Afraid Of The Dark
by Hwoarang Girl
Summary: One boy struggles as his dark Yami beats, abuses and tortures him... until his onlooking friend decides that something has to be done. Question is, can he save him before it's too late? *FINISHED! Thank you all!*
1. Hostage

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*~ Afraid of the Dark~*

'_Thought'_

"Spoken"

\ Bakura's voice in his head \

\\ Yami Bakura's voice in Bakura's head \\

~*~*~ Scene Change ~*~*~

/Yugi's voice in his head/

//Yami's voice in Yugi's head//

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

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Part 1 – Hostage

The weather today was fairly mild – warm, bright and the gentle zephyr complimented it all perfectly.  The four youths were perched in a small, quiet park, relaxing in the refreshing weather, chattering away to each other. Téa and Tristan were sitting upon the vividly coloured roundabout; Joey was leant against the tall swing frame, whilst Yugi and Bakura slowly swung in the wind, perched upon a swing each.

 "What are we going to do how?" Téa questioned them all.

"Don't look at me," Joey said.

Yugi shook his head, Tristan shrugged and Bakura seemed off in his own world.

Yet again.

The weather had brought back memories… he could remember a small zephyr, just the same as this one, on the day he found his Millennium Ring… he didn't want to think on any further, or the pain would once again return… 

Bakura yelped as Joey lightly hit him on the back, "C'mon, we're goin' to the arcades," he informed.

"Okay…" he said quietly, "but can you refrain from hitting me, please? My…back is sore and it hurts when you do that."

"Oh, soz," came the embarrassed reply. 

The other three had already begun walking off, and they were leaving a growing gap between them. Joey was going to run up and catch up with them, until Bakura told him he couldn't. His legs were sore _too_. So, in the spirit of friendship, he offered to walk along behind them with him.

"So," Joey began, trying to make some conversation, "Why are you sore? You okay?"

Bakura nodded. "I'm sore because-"

He bit his lip as he heard the cold voice in his mind.

 \\ You _ought_ to watch what you say, Bakura. \\ 

Joey felt uncomfortable by the sudden silence. "Because…?"

"…Because…I… slept awkwardly last night, you know how it can get sometimes…" he lowered his eyes to the floor.

\\ That's a good boy, I'm _not_ in the mood to be screwed around. \\

He could see from the corner of his eye the odd look perceiving him, and was thankful his Yami couldn't see it. 

He would be punished for not being convincing enough.

_'Slept awkwardly? No wonder he's looking at me like that…' _but what else could he have done? Told Joey that he was sore because he endured a hell of a beating the previous night?

Both looked up as Yugi dropped back to them. 

"What are you guys talking about?" he questioned, blinking his violet eyes.

"Bakura here was tellin' me how he 'slept awkwardly' last night."

_'Oh god… please don't notice the sarcasm…'_

"Oh…" Yugi looked up at Bakura, "Is that why you've been acting weird?"

_'Please… don't do this…'_

Joey stopped and crossed him arms. "So, will you now tell us the _real_ reason?"

_' Someone please help me…!' _

That had done it now.

\\ ………\\

\ …I…I… I'm sorry! I… \

\\ Sorry? … You'll be _sorry_ all right… \\

\ Pl…please… \

\\ Please? Don't spit on me, Bakura! You should leave your pleas for later, you'll need _EVERY LAST ONE. _\\  

\ No…! Pl- \

\\ You _dare_ answer me back, now, huh!? \\

\ No! I… \

\\ You what, Bakura? Come on. Tell me! \\

Yugi and Joey had noticed how Bakura was silent, and how he had began to tremble slightly. It was time for both to be worried.

\\ I'm _waiting_, Bakura. \\

Yami Bakura's voice always sent chills down his spine these days. It hadn't always been this way; there was a point when he couldn't get enough of it. He had just discovered the truth of the Millennium Ring and was engrossed by it. 

That was until he found out first hand just how dark Yami Bakura was. 

He _terrified_ him from then on.

\\ _Well_? Are you just going to wait until I _beat it_ out of you? \\

\… It… was nothing…! I didn't…mean to…! \

_Silence_.

He felt sick inside. The second he was alone, he was going to feel the mistakes he had made. They were going to turn him black and blue literally,_ if _there was an inch of his concealed flesh that wasn't _already_. 

Sometimes Bakura wished he had more courage. The courage to get rid of the Millennium Ring.

Or to destroy it. 

Or to get rid of himself instead. 

Anything to escape the dark clutches of his Yami.  But he couldn't, because Yami Bakura had threatened him. He had threatened he'd put him through hell a million times over the second he dared to _think_ like that, _let alone_ attempt it. 

What he wasn't sure was if it would be any better than what he was being put through now. He didn't have to bravery to find out.

"Bakura…?"

Bakura snapped out of his melancholic thoughts and stared at Yugi and Joey, who were facing him, standing directly in front of him.

"Sorry…"

Joey turned round. "C'mon, those two are way ahead of us! We gotta catch up!"

From there on Bakura decided to push the unpleasantness to the back of his mind and try to enjoy himself.

 Too bad time flies when you're having fun.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bakura had to crawl along the floor and drag himself into his bed that evening, the tears streaming down his face as he whimpered in agony, wiping away with one hand the blood he had spluttered up in a cough. 

After having finally heaved himself upon his bed, with great anguish, he laid upon his side, where it hurt the least, and huddled the cover around him, crying unbearably. 

He had to struggle to ignore the physical torment the slightest pressure caused his battered body just enough so he could sleep. He was going to have to wake up early to be able to shower away the blood over him the next morning, as he was barely able to make it three metres across the floor to his bed right now. 

As he wept himself to sleep, he could feel the icy glare of Yami Bakura upon him, loving every minute of his pain.

_Anything_ had to be better than this.

He _didn't_ deserve this.

To Be Continued…****


	2. Proposals

***~ Afraid of the Dark~***

'_Thought'_

"Spoken"

\ Bakura's voice in his head \

\\ Yami Bakura's voice in Bakura's head \\

~*~*~ Scene Change ~*~*~

/Yugi's voice in his head/

//Yami's voice in Yugi's head//

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do not kidnap cute duel monsters with green hair, pointy ears and amber eyes either… *Coughs* don't look at me like that… ^_^; 

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**Part 2 – Proposals******

Having woken early for a shower, Bakura wanted to cry, despising the throbbing soreness of his fragile, petit body. Each malevolent beating upon him left its mark clear upon his skin. Yet, this was heaven compared to the hell of it's cause; the rampaging actions of the monster inside the Millennium Ring.

As he stared into the mirror at his own pale, fatigued reflection he caught sight of new bruising upon the left side of his neck. _'He was pretty careless last night…'_ he thought as he quickly brushed through his snowy locks and returned to his room.

Whilst rummaging through his wardrobe for a particular item of clothing, Bakura began to consider alibis for his grazed, swollen bottom lip. His friends were sure to question him about it, and he hated having to lie to them… but he was sure they'd understand if they knew the whole situation. Sometimes they were too compassionate for their own safety. 

The thought of telling them everything had come across his mind may times before, but knowing that if he ever did, not only would he pay dearly, more importantly his friends would, at the hands of Yami Bakura.

Having found the long polo-neck jumper he was searching for, Bakura broke out of his thoughts as he pulled the it as gently as possible over his head. He was going to say he had fallen over to the gang. His swollen left wrist somehow made it much more plausible. 

The rest of his injuries were well hidden by his clothing and hair, safely concealed from prying eyes. 

God knows what he was to say if they noticed his newly acquired quiver.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was obvious that there was something wrong with Bakura. No matter how he acted or what he said, his deep eyes shone with truth, if you stared into them. Acquaintances such as Téa and Tristan were oblivious to this; but concerned friends such as Yugi weren't. When they approached, the melancholy was etched upon their faces.

"Your lip… what happened? Are you okay?" Yugi frantically questioned, his violet eyes widening.

Bakura nodded, " I fell yesterday night and cut it," he said, raising his left arm up to push his hair from his face.

Joey reached out and gently pulled his arm down, scrutinizing it carefully. "Quite a swollen wrist you got yourself." He glanced straight into his eyes, " I'm guessin' you put some ice on it. Relax your arm, will ya?"

Bakura did just that, and both he and Yugi watched as Joey began ripping the bottom of his baggy white t-shirt, until he pulled off a long strip. He then took Bakura's wrist and carefully massaged it before tightly wrapping it up with the strip of hid t-shirt, finishing it with a secure knot.

When Bakura looked up at his questioningly, Joey replied, "You wouldn't believe how many times I busted my wrist punching walls."

Bakura forced out a weak smile. At least he wasn't the only one with problems; but, then again, the others' ones couldn't be as bad as his… "Thanks…" he said with a small voice.

Joey put on a small sympathetic grin before stepping back.   

"C'mon guys, we had better get to class," Téa commented as she walked over, and past them. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bakura was relieved that they didn't give him any further questioning, despite the fact it was uneasily noticeable that both Yugi and Joey weren't swallowing any of his stories; luckily Yami Bakura was so void of anything but anger, he would dismiss their expressions had he seen them.

Still, their concerns for his safety had him worried about theirs…

He began to try and remember back, to a time when he was free of this all, free from pain, sadness and concern for those he cared about… the depressing truth was he couldn't. Even his mind was tainted by Yami Bakura's presence. 

"What are we gonna do about this?"  Yugi quietly questioned Joey.

"I dunno, Yug… I don't think there's anymore we can do,"

"We can't just let this carry on though…!"

"I know, the feelin' is mutual, but we can't just interfere with his private business," 

"…Still… we can't just sit back like this…"

"I know Yug, but if he wanted us to get involved he would've said sommit, it's not that simple,"

"You mean… you think he's been threatened not to-"

"Exactly. So whatever we do we can't be direct about it,"

Yugi smiled, "Okay, I get what you mean,"

"Now, what can we do…?"

"Well we can quietly think about it for a couple of days… I've got an idea on how to get us some time…"

"Yeah?"

"I'll explain later tonight, okay?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yugi excitedly jumped upon the couch, with the cordless phone clutched in his left hand. As he began to dial a number, Yami couldn't help but notice his energy.

// What's with you then? //

/ Nothing, I'm just excited. /

// …As I can see. //

/ It's for a good reason. /

// …And that is…? //

/ Oh, you'll see… oh, he's picking up! I'll explain later! /

"Yeah, whadda ya want?" Joey grumbled, having been interrupted from his dinner.

"Nice greeting, very sociable," Yugi commented, very energetically.

"Oh, hey Yug. What's all the hype about?"

"My plan! You up for staying round mine tomorrow night and watching movies and stuff?"

"Sure. That's your plan, huh?"

"Yep. I'll call back in a minute, I'll speak to Bakura."

"'Kay, later."

Yugi hung up the phone, and once again began dialing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow as the shrill ringing of the telephone filled the air. He threw Bakura harshly to the floor and gave him a kick to hasten him. "Stop sniveling like a dog and answer," he growled, angered by the sudden interruption.

Bakura quickly crawled to the phone and hastily rose, grabbing it and picking up the line, trying his hardest not to whimper and cry from the agonizingly sharp pains running through him. "H-hello?"

He spoke quietly, hoping that Yami Bakura wouldn't hear the conversation, just incase he'd hurt him even more.

"Bakura, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…I'm f-fine…"

He couldn't stop his stuttering, and he could see Yami Bakura growing impatient and livid. He was sure to get hell over it…

"…If you're sure… so, I was calling to see if you were up for staying round mine tomorrow night to watch some movies and stuff?"

This was too good to be true; and yet it was.

_'Who cares if Yami Bakura kills me for going… I'll do anything to get away… to escape for a night… he wouldn't dare come out in front of people…'_  Bakura wanted to scream with happiness, "S-sure, that would be g-great."

"Okay, I'll see ay then, will you be dropping back to get your stuff after school tomorrow or coming straight to mine from there?"

Bakura hesitated, as Yami Bakura hung over him. Yugi could hear the sound of another present person, and wasn't going to take any chances. "So I'll show you how the Sine and Cosine rules are applied for calculating angles tomorrow at lunch. Settled?"

"Y-yeah, t-thanks,"

"Bye!"

Yami Bakura snatched the phone out of his hand and slammed it onto the receiver. Even though it was only about some silly math formulae, he was angry at the stuttering; he was going to make sure Bakura knew that he was going to have to control it.

Bakura was thankful that Yugi had made the deception… but when Yami Bakura was to find out about tomorrow's plans… he was going to catch on quickly.

Everything seemed to have its downside.

Even temporary salvation.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chaos

***~ Afraid of the Dark~***

'_Thought'_

"Spoken"

\ Bakura's voice in his head \

\\ Yami Bakura's voice in Bakura's head \\

~*~*~ Scene Change ~*~*~

/Yugi's voice in his head/

//Yami's voice in Yugi's head//

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Warning: VIOLENCE ALERT ^_^

Also, sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I'm upping the rating too.

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Part 3 – Chaos

Sneaking about was something Bakura was beginning to get used to; he had to do it so much as of recent. He didn't really like it, but he had to, if he was to pull this off. He slid on a thin jumper over his plain t-shirt carefully and sighed, before wiping his white hair back.

He was finding it hard to keep his anxiety and excitement concealed, the only thing keeping him from going insane was the fear of what Yami Bakura would do if he caught him now. He couldn't care less about what he was going to do _when_ he found out; he would worry about that when the time came. 

He was risking everything for one night of freedom, and gladly at that.

He ran into the bathroom and quickly ran a brush through his snowy locks before dropping down his brush and running down the stairs, throwing his satchel upon one shoulder and rushing out of the door. 

The second he shut the door behind him; he was a step closer to freedom. He raised a hand of slender petit fingers and clutched them round the Millennium Ring hanging round his neck. Who would've believed one little thing could cause so much trouble…? He continued to race down the street towards school, wishing it would all just hurry and pass so he could finally relax for even a little while.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yugi grinned as he flung open his front door and ran into his living room, diving upon the couch, "C'mon guys!" he called out. 

Joey and Bakura had decided to come straight from school, whereas Tristan and Téa had agreed to come along later. Joey shook his head at Yugi's hyperactive behaviour whilst Bakura laughed and copied his example, jumping onto the sofa, much to Yugi's delight.

Joey never thought he'd see the day when he was acting as the mature one… he grimaced as the other two looked at each other, nodded, and bombarded him with cushions from on the chair. "You two are _so dead_!" he grinned, throwing them back twice as hard as they had thrown them at him, before running over to the sofa and hitting each one over the head with the last of the cushions in his possession.

Yugi pulled a face at the blonde before grabbing two and hitting him back with both continuously, whilst Bakura paused.

\\ _You are **dead**, you little- _\\ Bakura decided he'd make a game of seeing how long he could ignore the malevolent growl of the Millennium Ring's spirit for, starting from now.

Joey hit him in the face with a cushion, and looked at him inquisitively. "You in there?" he said, before Bakura and Yugi both pushed him off of the sofa to the floor simultaneously.

"Fine," he pouted from his spot on the floor, "lets all pick on Joey…"

Yugi grinned, "Okay," he answered sweetly.

Both he and Bakura got to their feet on the chair and jumped of dog piling on the blonde, 'Cheshire cat' size grins etched on their faces.

"Fine, you wanna play it that way, huh?" he exclaimed, pushing them both off.

He smirked as he then pulled Bakura into a headlock and watched as the snowy-haired youth began to squirm, trying to break free to no avail. Yugi grinned as he winked at Joey before launching a tickle attack on Bakura's ribs whilst Joey kept him in the lock.

"Hey…! N…o fair…! 2 ag…ainst 1…!" he cried out in between fits of hysterical laughing, adding to the other two's amusement.

"Life is never fair!" Yugi chuckled out as he continued his attack, which lasted until they thought Bakura was going to drop dead any second now, and they released him. 

After he caught his breath back, he looked up at Yugi with a smirk and launched at him, with a devastating poke attack, which Joey joined in with. Yugi grimaced and giggled in protest before diving onto the couch and curling into a ball, only to be followed by the other two. /Yami! Help me! /  Yugi begged, as they continued to poke him, /Please! /

//Fine then, let me take control… //

Both Joey and Bakura blinked in surprise when each one of Yugi's hands shot out and gripped their wrists tightly, and he lifted his head, smirking, "Think it's fun to take on the smallest one, huh?" he said playfully, as he quickly let go and pushed them both off of the sofa before sitting down with a smirk and crossing him arms over his chest.   

Joey was the first to get to his feet and try to shove him off in return, but was only pushed down once again. What commenced next was basically the same, until both Bakura and Joey admitted defeat and Yami gave Yugi back control, secretly proud of his achievement. But he wasn't going to admit that… yet.

\\_Don't ignore me, I'll put you through **hell** a million times over! You're going to **regret** this mistake, and you're **friends will too**!_ \\

Bakura froze at those words. He couldn't ignore them…  '_He…wouldn't dare to hurt my friends… would he?' _But he knew that his Yami would, or, more precisely was going to at the first chance he got. \…W-w-what…? \

\\That's _right,_ Bakura, I'm going to have some _fun_ with them until there's _nothing_ left of them, _not even a trace_. \ 

\…Shut up! \ he cried at him without any thought. 

_'Did… I just do that?' _Bakura cupped his hands over his mouth in shock, _'how could I have been so stupid!'  _

If there was anything he had learned about his Millennium item's spirit, it was never to enrage him. 

It was a little too late for that.

\I…I…didn't mean to…! \ he cried out, to deaf ears.

He watched in horror as the Ring suspended round his neck glowed eerily and the figure of Yami Bakura emerged, scowling demonically. 

Yugi and Joey watched in fear, as in the space of five seconds, the newly emerged figure sent two powerful fists into Bakura's face and stomach in unison, then kicked him into the air and caught him by the neck, and threw his delicate body backward, slamming into the far wall with a loud thud, and watched as Bakura's body crumpled to the floor, whimpering in aguish and leaking out ruby blood from his face and mouth. 

Joey instantly shot to his feet and threw a punch at him, only to have his fist caught and flung aside by it, with ease.

Yami Bakura smirked with a sickening pleasure and placed his piercing stare onto the nearest figure, "I'll start with you," he glowered at Yugi.

"…N-o…!" Bakura gasped as he dragged himself across the floor and tried to pull his evil Yami back at the feet. Yami Bakura sent a heel effortlessly into his face, knocking him back harshly, sending more blood out and peered over and Joey once again pulled himself to his feet and upped his fists.

The distraction had given Yami enough time to emerge from the Millennium Puzzle, and as Joey kept Yami Bakura distracted, Yami sent a kick straight into his back, knocking him down.

"Yugi, go!" he said, "Joey, you too. Get Bakura out of here too. I'll handle this," 

Yugi quickly ran from his seat, closely followed by Joey whom had Bakura slung over his back.

Yami Bakura rose and stared icily at Yami who was stood in front of him. He glanced past him at the three figures making a run for it – in particular the smallest, the one with another Millennium item round his neck, before reverting back to Yami.

_'The spirit of that Millennium item… if I rid of him now then I'll be a step closer to having all seven items in my possession…' _he smirked malevolently at him, "You will not stand in my way," he growled.

He was sure he could take him fist to fist, and threw a punch at his head, only to have Yami lean out of the way and counter with a fist of his own, which he just managed to block.

He then stepped back and growled, before swooping a leg at Yami, who ducked and landed an uppercut, causing Yami Bakura to stumble back rubbing his jaw, before hitting him with a surprise elbow to his stomach. 

Yami paused momentarily before sending a combo of fists into Yami Bakura and hacking him down, only to have his legs knocked down from underneath him.  Both quickly rose, and Yami Bakura hit Yami in the gut before going for his face, only to have his fist caught and be thrown over his shoulder, a loud crack filling the air as his arm dislocated.  

Yami Bakura grimaced as he looked at Yami, who was breathing heavily, but ready for any physical attack awaiting him.

"I may have underestimated you're fighting skills, but you're no match for my monsters," he smirked as rose back to his feet, his dislocated arm hanging limp by his side, and pulled out a card from his deck with his good arm.

Yami watched in shock as the Man-Eater Bug materialised right in front of a maniacal Yami Bakura, whose small dark brown eyes stared at him demonically from under his white silky locks, "Lets see you get out of this, " he laughed as the creature closed in on the tri-colour haired figure.

Yami grimaced, knowing he had to quickly get rid of this thing, before the evil spirit in front of him could get to the other three…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm… so sorry!" Bakura sobbed into his hands, weakened greatly, "it's all my fault! I should've never come…"

Yugi took a seat next to the snowy-haired figure and began to stroke his back sympathetically, "It's okay, Bakura, Yami can handle it…it's not your fault…"

Joey agreed as he pulled his knees to his chest and sighed.

Now both of them had drawn conclusions from this about all the injuries their friend had gained, and both knew that they had to find a way to stop it all before it could get any worse than it already was.

To Be Continued…


	4. Shattered

***~ Afraid of the Dark~***

'_Thought'_

"Spoken"

\ Bakura's voice in his head \

\\ Yami Bakura's voice in Bakura's head \\

~*~*~ Scene Change ~*~*~

/Yugi's voice in his head/

//Yami's voice in Yugi's head//

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Warning: VIOLENCE ALERT ^_^

I'm dedicating this chapter to fERAL iMP, because you left me loads of reviews and continually pestered me to carry on, even calling me 'lazy', which I _partially_ confess too, lol. I'm feeling proud to have a fan like you! ^_^ 

One more to go after this one, I've planned this for 5 chapters from the beginning, and it's already written up, so the sooner you all review, the quicker I'll post the ending.

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**Part 4 - Shattered**

Joey frowned as he looked up, his honey blonde hair wavering in his face as his eyes caught sight of the fast approaching figure. He jumped to his feet and walked forward, signalling to Yugi and Bakura to stay back, "he's coming," he growled, clenching his fists.

Both the smaller ones looked up. 

There, coming towards them casually, with a demonic smirk etched onto his shadowy face and one arm fallen limply by his side, was Yami Bakura.

"…But…" Yugi shot to his feet as his lip quivered, "…Yami!"

Both Joey and Bakura watched in horror as the petit duellist shot past them, avoiding Yami Bakura and running back to the house.

"YUGI! NO, COME BACK!" 

But Joey's plea had fallen on deaf ears, and Yugi was now out of their sight. 

"Like killing two birds with one stone," the dark snowy-haired figure sneered, "the pharaoh and pipsqueak won't last a second, and that leaves only you," he glanced at the shaking figure of his host, "I'll deal with you later,"

Joey stood in the dark yami's path, in a ready stance. '_This should be a piece of cake; looks like Yami busted his arm up good,' _

"What do we have here? The mangy mutt wants to play? You're way out of your league!" 

Joey sighed, _'why is it always dogs?!' _before launching at the snowy demon, psyched up on his anger. "_Mangy mutt?!_ I'll show you who the many mutt around here is!" 

Bakura quickly brought his knees up to his chest and clutched them for dear life, frightened of the spirit and worried for Yugi, Yami _and _Joey's safety. He snivelled, burying his head into his knees. This was all happening because of _him_.

Yami Bakura stumbled back, rubbing his jaw, before widening his smirk, much to the blonde's confusion. "Is that all you've got? " 

He jumped forward, sending out a fist, which Joey blocked, unfortunately, he didn't notice the knee until it gutted him, and he doubled over momentarily, just recovering in time to raise an arm to block a heel drop and knock the snowy Yami tumbling to the floor.

But Yami Bakura just sprung back up, laughing manically.

Bakura's eyes widened as he caught sight of just what his Yami was so confident… 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Goddamn tomb robbing scum…" the pharaoh muttered, as he managed a leap out of the way in time to avoid the huge bug's attack. He had to think of something to do, and _quickly_. But what he wasn't planning on was a new arrival on the scene.

"Yami!"

Yami frowned and began to panic, "Yugi! Get out of here, now!"

Yugi yelped as the Man-Eater Bug spun round and leapt towards him ferociously. 

He was cornered.

Yami leapt forward, his third eye appearing on his forehead as he vaulted over the Man-Eater Bug and landed in front of Yugi, facing his light. He then spun on his heels, and extended out an arm at the creature as his third eye's glow intensified. 

"Mind crush!" the pharaoh cried, and Yugi flinched back a little from behind Yami as the creature disintegrated in front of his eyes.

After a momentary silence, Yami's eyelids fluttered shut and the extra eye disappeared, before he turned to face Yugi and looked at him, "Why did you come here when I asked you not to?"

Yugi protested, looking at his other sadly, "Because Yami Bakura was coming towards us and you weren't there; I thought you might be in trouble,"

Yami sighed, "Don't worry about it," he then glanced around, "we had better hurry back out there,"

Yugi nodded, and both hurried after the evil spirit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bakura stared in horror, knowing his yami's intentions. _'I have to do something! I can't just sit here and do nothing!' _He took a deep breath. He was going to have to overcome his fear; this was no longer just about himself, his friends were in the firing line too.

He jumped to his feet and ran over, right behind Yami Bakura, and leapt onto his back, tightening his arms round his neck and choking him before the demon could get to his deck.

Joey blinked in surprise at the snowy youth's actions, but soon snapped out as Yami Bakura threw Bakura off and grasped a card in his hand.

"You're through!" Yami Bakura hissed; the Millennium Ring glowing as his monster was ready to emerge…

Bakura had pulled himself off of the floor, and in desperation, launched at his yami's arm which held the card and sank his teeth deep into it. Yami Bakura dropped the card in shock and kicked his light off of him, snarling as he caught sight of the blood that had been drawn. Bakura yelped in pain as he slammed against the hard floor, but for once, he didn't feel shattered, and rose up, helping Joey launch a kick into his gut.

Yami Bakura growled as he stumbled back, and into something. 

Or rather, _someone._

When he spun round, he saw Yugi's large eye blink at him as the pharaoh's smirk grew and all five of them plunged into the dismal depths of the Shadow Realm.

Yami Bakura's eyes widened as Yami stepped forward, "Let's finish this game, shall we?" 

He sent a nod in Yugi's direction, who pulled out a card in response.

"Two can play at your game here," Yami smirked, as Yugi began to summon his monster.

"I call upon you, Dark Magician!"

Yami Bakura stared in horror as the tall purple clad mage materialised from out of the card and spun to face him, penetrating him with a cold blue stare as he raised his staff.

Yami stepped forward, throwing out a hand, "Dark Magic Attack, now!"

Yugi and Bakura both turned away as a shrill cry echoed before being cut off as a blast of magic sent the snowy demon to the Graveyard.

When all the commotion died down, the mage once again turned to face his masters, and knelt to them before returning to the card. Yami walked towards Bakura, knowing there was one more thing left to do.

"The Ring. As long as you wear it, he will be able to find his way back to you, _if _he survived,"

Bakura blinked, and raised a slender hand to it, sliding his fingers over its cool surface. He then tightened his grip round it, and yanked it from round his neck, "what shall I do with it?" he meekly questioned.

"Throw it."

Bakura smiled as he looked at all three of his friends whom had rid him of the demon overhanging him., before stretching back his arm and lobbing the Ring off, into the never-ending darkness they were submerged in.

Yami then sighed, and with a glow of the Millennium Puzzle, all four found themselves back on the streets.

Just as they were turning round to head back indoors, a cry greeted them.

"Guys!" 

Téa came running over as Tristan stood leant against a wall, his arms folded. 

"What were you doing?" she questioned, eyeing them suspiciously, "Are you okay? You look kind of beaten, especially you, Bakura."

All four looked at each other and rolled their eyes. This was going to be a _long_ night…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First, his right slender hand twitched.

_'…Ugh…'_

Then he moved his arm back slowly, before his eyelids fluttered open revealing his small, livid, dark chocolate eyes.

_'Thought…they could… rid of me… so… easily…?'_

His chest moved as he inhaled sharply, forcing his battered body to a sitting position as he tried to gain perspective of the dank dreariness surrounding him. 

_The Graveyard._

It took his mind a moment to register it, before he understood fully.

He sighed, raising a hand to his head. At least it was peaceful here… and there was nothing to haunt him anymore…he lay back against a tombstone and stared around. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bakura couldn't sleep any longer, and yawned as he pulled himself up and walked towards the window of the room in Yugi's they had all crashed at, carefully hopping over a number of sprawled bodies lying about here and there.

The sun was just rising, and its warm rays fell upon his pale face, adding a warm tint to his colour. As he stood there, staring out at the rare beauty of dawn and listening to the quiet morning sounds, it hit him.

_He was free._

_And there was no catch._

"Free…" he muttered as a smile spread across his face, and he turned around, trotting back to where he had come from, in such a happy mood that he stumbled over a snoring Joey on his way.

To Be Continued… 


	5. Conformity

***~ Afraid of the Dark~***

'_Thought'_

"Spoken"

\ Bakura's voice in his head \

\\ Yami Bakura's voice in Bakura's head \\

~*~*~ Scene Change ~*~*~

/Yugi's voice in his head/

//Yami's voice in Yugi's head//

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

I'd like to thank everybody for the great response to this fic, and I'm sad that it has to end… you want to know my little secret about this fic? Just read on, and this chapter will enlighten you on why I decided to write this… 

Thank you all so much for reviewing, I really appreciate your support ^_^

~Hwoarang Girl~

^_~ 

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**Part 5 – Conformity**

He truly was cursed by the gods. If it wasn't enough that he had had a whole mortal future ahead of him to live with his tortured past, they had given him an eternity beyond that by sealing his soul into the Millennium Ring. He felt like a puppet, being played around continuously by the gods, making him suffer eternally.

Yami Bakura slumped to the floor of his soul room, in a tense silence. '_Not even 24 hours… not even 24 damned hours!' _

He felt like screaming, or throwing a fit, or even better finding a little black hole he could crawl up into and die… but _no… those damned gods would let him… instead they kept him shackled to __Bakura. Yami Bakura clenched his hands into fists._

He had his reasons for why he treated the kid the way he did… just thinking about it was enough to break him down, and he pounded the floor continuously with his fists. How he wanted to find a nice tomb to raid… it sounded strange, but through his excruciating childhood it was the one place he could forget everything and relax… it was always so peaceful… and the dead couldn't exactly ruin it… 

Yami Bakura frowned as he felt something cold roll down his cheek, and he lifted his throbbing hands up, in front of his face, scrutinizing them. They weren't at all like him, they were pale and delicate. No, this was just a façade, of the person there who could open up every single wound from his past _oh so well. He had been tanned, with messy dark semi-long locks, and wasn't this delicate at all… '__No… I don't want to think about it anymore…'_

He stood up and punched the wall in frustration, hating each tear that fell to the floor and smashed by his feet. He couldn't _believe how weak he was being…_

Bakura blinked his chocolate eyes and tilted his head… '_Did I just hear…?'_

He found Yugi, Joey, Téa _and Tristan all staring at him, "What's up?" Yugi questioned, frowning._

"Hmm?  Nothing…"   Bakura smiled warmly at them, staring out at all the socializing pupils around them. He picked up his sandwich and took a bite out of it, before he heard it again. '_I…have to see…' he looked at the others, who were overly-concerned about him ever since the Millennium Ring had returned, a day after they had rid of it. It had just…__appeared out of nowhere, like it was never meant to part with him… "I have to see…"_

Yugi and Joey both turned to him, brows furrowed.

"I haven't heard even a word from him since the ring returned… and I just thought I could hear… crying,"

He could have sworn that Joey looked as though he was having a heart attack after his remark, and he could see that Yami wanted to give his input as he momentarily took over Yugi's body, "if you feel you must, be very cautious,"

The snowy youth nodded, before retreating into the depths of his mind.

Bakura gulped as he stood outside his yami's soul room and found that he was shaking. _'Perhaps this isn't such a good idea…' he frowned as he heard a loud crash come inside, __'what am I saying? Of course this isn't a good idea… but...' he reached out a slender hand and pushed open the door, stepping in with all the courage he had. _

He couldn't do anything but gawp at what greeted him.

The whole darkened Egyptian style room and been torn to pieces and in the corner, pounding the wall with raw fists was his Yami. _His Yami with reddened eyes, a tear-stained face and sobbing angrily._

Bakura could have sworn his jaw would've dropped to the floor if it were physically possible. He was totally and utterly speechless.

Yami Bakura spun round and saw the other staring at him. "You…!" he hissed, running over.

Before Bakura knew what was happening, he was lifted into the air by his shirt collar. He closed his eyes as Yami Bakura raised a fist, but was shocked with the result, "Open your eyes!" he snarled, lifting Bakura's face with his other hand. 

Yami Bakura stared in a malevolent silence, _'this little boy… how does he do it? Why is he allowed to shatter my mind countless times with one smile… why do I have to be roped to someone who has everything so easy, and yet gets so much support when the slightest thing goes wrong? Why do the gods continue to mock me so?'_

He snapped out of his thoughts and dropped Bakura down to the floor, turning round and walking back the way he came.

Now Bakura was worried; since when did _his Yami __not take a chance to beat him?_

He pulled himself to his feet and ran after the other, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him back. Bakura felt a little relieved when he felt a tensed fist connect with his jaw, knocking him to the floor._  "What is it you want with me?!!" Yami Bakura practically screamed at his light, shaking._

_'Shaking…?' Bakura blinked a couple of times before pulling himself to his feet and staring at the other. "…What's…wrong with you?" he questioned softly, still staring at him._

The question had completely taken Yami Bakura off guard, and took a few moments to register; he then edged back, staring at his light oddly. Never in his lifetime had he heard someone say that to him like that… and it caused him to snap.

He clutched his head tightly shaking his head, rambling incoherently in Egyptian. How could he take this…? He wanted to scream out.  "Why don't you try being cursed by the gods to live for millennia trapped inside –that, haunted by every fucking day of your miserable, worthless past!?  Only to be 'freed' and live in the façade of some little brat, losing whatever last bit of identity you had, who has it so easy?! Who couldn't possibly understand the shit you've been through?! Watching them frolic about happily, loved by everyone, every fucking day?!!"  

Bakura blinked in shock as he watched the spirit drop to his knees, hissing and sobbing angrily. He didn't know what to do… they stayed in silence for a few minutes, before Bakura finally thought of something to say.

"What if… you got this all wrong?" he received a death-glare in response, and took a deep breath before continuing nervously, "…maybe you aren't being cursed by the gods, maybe you're getting a second chance at life? You have nothing left that ties you to your past… and… I can help you start new, if you'd like…"

Yami Bakura stared at his light, before pulling himself up in silence. 

After a momentary still, Yami Bakura pushed past Bakura quietly, going deeper into his soul room with a smirk emerging on his face. 

Bakura smiled, before turning and leaving. That shove was as close as he was going to get to a 'thank you'. 

He could tell things were going to change.

_For the better.___

**~ The End ~**

**^_~**


End file.
